Cloud management with power management support

ABSTRACT

A system and method for managing power in virtualized computer systems are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a request to instantiate a virtual machine is received. A processor determines that a power state is to be altered to instantiate the virtual machine on a computing system, and in response to the determination, alters the power state.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/473,987, filed May 28, 2009, and hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to network computing, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for cloud computing relatednetworks, services and products.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The advent of cloud-based computing architectures has opened newpossibilities for the rapid and scalable deployment of virtual Webstores, media outlets, and other on-line sites or services. In general,a cloud-based architecture deploys a set of hosted resources such asprocessors, operating systems, software and other components that can becombined or strung together to form virtual machines. A user or customercan request the instantiation of a virtual machine or set of machinesfrom those resources from a central server or management system toperform intended tasks or applications. For example, a user may wish toset up and instantiate a virtual server from the cloud to create astorefront to market products or services on a temporary basis, forinstance, to sell tickets to an upcoming sports or musical performance.The user can lease or subscribe to the set of resources needed to buildand run the set of instantiated virtual machines on a comparativelyshort-term basis, such as hours or days, for their intended application.

Currently, cloud-based computing architectures are supported bydedicated servers used solely to operate the clouds. These dedicatedservers utilize unitary virtualization schemes in order to instantiatevirtual machines in the cloud. Likewise, these architectures lackflexibility in selecting resources to include in the cloud. Moreover,the dedicated servers may require direct interaction from anadministrator to invoke virtual machines on the dedicated servers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments can be more fully appreciated, asthe same become better understood with reference to the followingdetailed description of the embodiments when considered in connectionwith the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary cloud computing architecture in whichvarious embodiments of the present teachings can be practiced;

FIG. 2 illustrates the exemplary cloud computing architecture in which acloud management system can manage a cloud, according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration for a cloudmanagement system, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart an exemplary process for managing a cloudincluding power management, according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the presentteachings are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodimentsthereof. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readilyrecognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can beimplemented in, all types of information and systems, and that any suchvariations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the presentteachings. Moreover, in the following detailed description, referencesare made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specificembodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes maybe made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present teachings. The following detailed description is,therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of thepresent teachings is defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

Embodiments of the present teachings relate to systems and methods forflexible management of a cloud computing environment. More particularly,embodiments relate to platforms and techniques in which a cloudmanagement system can identify and utilize computing resources forinstantiating virtual machines in a cloud including managing the powersystems of the computing resources to instantiate the virtual machines.

According to embodiments, the cloud management system can be configuredto identify and manage computing systems, and to identify the powermanagement systems of the computing systems and control the powermanagement of the computing systems during the installation of virtualmachines. The cloud management system can be utilized in any type ofcloud architecture regardless of the type of computing systems, thepower management systems utilized by the computing systems, and thevirtualization scheme used to instantiate the virtual machines. Forexample, the cloud management system can be used in dedicated cloudenvironments. Likewise, the cloud management system can be utilized inexisting data centers in order to support ad-hoc clouds formed fromexisting and available computing resources.

According to embodiments, the cloud management system can be configuredto identify the computing system and computing resources available tosupport the cloud. Additionally, the cloud management system can beconfigured to identify power management systems controlling the powerprovided to the computing systems. The cloud management system can beconfigured to maintain an inventory of computing systems including thecomputing resources available to the cloud, the current utilization ofthose resources, and the identification of any power management systemssupporting the computing systems.

According to embodiments, when a requester requests use of the cloud,the cloud management system can be configured to receive specificationsof the cloud usage from the requester. The specifications can includehow the requester plans to use the cloud (mail server, applicationserver, web server, etc.) and/or specific requirements for the computingresources (amount of processing power, amount of memory, amount ofstorage, amount of bandwidth, etc.). The cloud management system can beconfigured to utilize the specifications from the requester and theinventory of available computing resources to determine which cloudresources to devote to the requester's virtual machines to maximize thecomputing resources and meet the requester's specifications.

According to embodiments, when determining the computing systems andcomputing resources with which to support the virtual machines, thecloud management system can be configured to determine if theoperational state of the virtual machines and/or the computing systemsneeds to be altered in order to instantiate the virtual machines. If theoperational state of the computing systems needs to be altered, thecloud management system can be configured to retrieve the identificationof the power management systems supporting the computing systems. Thecloud management system can be configured to utilize the identificationof the power management systems to instruct the power management systemsto alter the power state of the computing system in order to instantiatethe virtual machines.

By supporting a cloud regardless of the infrastructure andvirtualization scheme, the cloud management system can create, manage,and support the cloud on any type of computing resources. Additionally,by maintaining and interacting the with power management systems of thecomputing systems, the cloud management system can instantiate thevirtual machines without interacting directly with the computer systemsor requiring action by other parties to alter the power state of thecomputing systems in order to instantiate the virtual machines. As such,the cloud management system can provide flexibility and efficiency toany cloud computing environment.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall cloud computing environment 100, in whichsystems and methods for the flexible management of the cloud computingenvironment 100, according to embodiments of the present teachings.According to embodiments, a cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to mange one or more clouds, such as a dedicated cloud 104and an ad-hoc cloud 106. As used herein, a “cloud” can comprise acollection of computing resources that can be invoked to instantiate avirtual machine, process, or other resource for a limited or definedduration.

As shown for example in FIG. 1, the collection of computing resourcessupporting the dedicated cloud 104 can comprise a set of resourceservers 108 configured to deliver computing resources and componentsneeded to instantiate a virtual machine, process, or other resource. Forexample, one group of resource servers can host and serve an operatingsystem or components thereof to deliver to and instantiate a virtualmachine. Another group of resource servers can accept requests to hostcomputing cycles or processor time, to supply a defined level ofprocessing power for a virtual machine. A further group of resourceservers can host and serve applications to load on an instantiation of avirtual machine, such as an email client, a browser application, amessaging application, or other applications or software. Other types ofresource servers are possible.

In embodiments, in addition to supporting the dedicated cloud 104, thecloud management system 102 can be configured to support the ad-hoccloud 106. The ad-hoc cloud 106 can be composed of a variety ofcomputing resources that may not be dedicated to a cloud but can haveavailable computing resources to contribute to the ad-hoc cloud 106. Forexample, a corporation or university can have a large number ofcomputing resources that support a variety of process (email, websites,individual user computing, and the like). The corporation or universitycan utilize the available excess computing resources to support anad-hoc cloud, such as ad-hoc cloud 106.

In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the ad-hoc cloud 106 can besupported by a number of computing systems 110. For example, thecomputing systems 110 can include a variety of systems such as a set ofservers 112 and 114 and standalone user computing systems 116 and 118.The computing systems 110 can include hardware resources, such asprocessors, memory, network hardware, storage devices, and the like, andsoftware resources, such as operating systems (OS), applicationprograms, and the like.

In embodiments, the entire set of resource servers 108 or other hardwareor software resources used to support the cloud 104 and the computingsystems 110 used to support the ad-hoc cloud 106 can be managed by thecloud management system 102. The cloud management system 102 cancomprise a dedicated or centralized server and/or other software,hardware, and network tools that communicate via one or more networks120 and networks 122, such as the Internet or other public or privatenetwork, with all sets of resource servers 108 to manage the cloud 104and with computing systems 110 to manage the ad-hoc cloud 106 and theiroperation.

In embodiments, to manage the clouds 104 and 106, the cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured identify the computing resources of the setof resource servers 108 and computing systems 110. The cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to include a network management agent thatis capable of querying the set of resource servers 108 and computingsystems 110 to determine the hardware and software resources. Likewise,the cloud management system 102 can be configured to communicate withexternal network management systems and/or resources monitoring agentsexecuting on the set of resource servers 108 and computing systems 110in order to determine the hardware and software resources of the set ofresource servers 108 and computing systems 110.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toidentify both the hardware and software resources of the set of resourceservers 108 and computing systems 110 and which of those resources areavailable for use in the cloud. The cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to identify the hardware resources such as type and amount ofprocessing power, type and amount of memory, type and amount of storage,type and amount of network bandwidth and the like, of the set ofresource servers 108 and computing systems 110. Likewise, the cloudmanagement system can be configured to identify the software resources,such as type of OS, application programs, and the like, of the set ofresource servers 108 and computing systems 110.

In embodiments, once the computing resources have been identified, thecloud management system 102 can be configured to store an identificationof the available resources in an inventory 124 in a repository 126. Therepository 126 can be any type of structure configured to storeinformation, such as a database. The repository 126 can be maintained ina computer readable storage device or medium whether local to or remotefrom the cloud management system 102.

In embodiments, the inventory 124 can be configured to includeinformation that identifies the set of resource servers 108 andcomputing systems 110 and information identifying the computingresources available. The sets of resource servers 108 and each system inthe computing systems 110 can be identified by unique identifiers suchas, for instance, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or other addresses.In the inventory 124, the cloud management system 102 can associate,with each unique identifier, the computing resources available on thatcomputing system.

In embodiments, to instantiate a new set of virtual machines, arequester can transmit an instantiation request to the cloud managementsystem 102. The instantiation request can include the specifications forthe set of virtual machines. The specifications can include theparticular type of virtual machine they wish to invoke for theirintended application. A requester can, for instance, make a request toinstantiate a set of virtual machines configured for email, messaging orother applications from the cloud 104 and/or 106. The specifications canalso include the type and/or amount of computing resources required. Forexample, the instantiation request can specify an amount of processingpower or input/output (I/O) throughput the user wishes to be availableto each instance of the virtual machine or other resources.

In embodiments, the requester's instantiation request can specify avariety of other specifications defining the configuration and operationof the set of virtual machines to be invoked. The instantiation request,for example, can specify a defined period of time for which theinstantiated machine or process is needed. The period of time can be,for example, an hour, a day, or other increment of time. In embodiments,the requester's instantiation request can specify the instantiation of aset of virtual machines or processes on a task basis, rather than for apredetermined amount of time. For instance, a requester could requestresources until a software update is completed. The requester can also,for instance, specify a service level agreement (SLA) acceptable fortheir application. One skilled in the art will realize that therequester's request can likewise include combinations of the foregoingexemplary specifications, and others.

In embodiments, the instantiation request can be received and processedby the cloud management system 102, which identifies the type of virtualmachine, process, or other resource being requested from thespecifications. The cloud management system 102 can then identify thecollection of computing resources necessary to instantiate that machineor resource. For example, the set of instantiated virtual machines orother resources can for example comprise virtual transaction serversused to support Web storefronts, or other transaction sites.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toutilize the specifications from the instantiation request and theinventory 124 of available computing resources to determine which cloudresources to devote to the requester's virtual machines to maximize thecomputing resources of the clouds 104 and/or 106 and meet therequester's specifications. For example, the cloud management system 102can select a group of servers in the set of resource servers 108 and/orcomputing system in the computing systems 110 that match or best matchthe instantiation request for each component needed to build the virtualmachine or other resource.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can maintain a set of“virtual groups,” and assign the set of resource servers 108 andcomputing systems 110 to different “virtual groups”. The “virtualgroups” can be based on the particular usage (type of virtual machine,application of the virtual machine, function of the virtual machine, andthe like) of the members in the groups. For example, the cloudmanagement system 102 can set up a “virtual group” for web servers. Thecloud management system 102 can classify the computing resources for theweb server “virtual group” based on which computing resources are bestsuited for web servers. As members of the web server “virtual group”request use of the cloud, the cloud management system 102 can assign theavailable computing resources classified in the web server “virtualgroup” to the members. Likewise, the “virtual groups” can be based onthe specifications of the computing resources (type and amount ofcomputing resources). For example, the cloud management system 102 cancreate a “virtual group” for high power computing users. The cloudmanagement system 102 can assign resources to this group that canadequately support computing intensive virtual machines. As members ofthe high power “virtual group” request use of the cloud, the cloudmanagement system 102 can assign the available computing resourcesclassified in the high power “virtual group” to the members. The cloudmanagement system 102 can maintain the virtual groups in a group record128 in repository 126.

When the request to instantiate a set of virtual machines or otherresources has been received and the necessary resources to build thatmachine or resource have been identified, the cloud management system102 can communicate with one or more set of resource servers 108 and/orcomputing systems 110 to locate resources to supply the requiredcomponents. The cloud management system 102 can select providers fromthe diverse set of resource servers 108 and/or computing systems 110 toassemble the various components needed to build the requested set ofvirtual machines or other resources. It may be noted that in someembodiments, permanent storage such as hard disk arrays may not beincluded or located within the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing resources 110 available to the cloud management system 102,because the set of instantiated virtual machines or other resources maybe intended to operate on a purely transient or temporary basis. Inembodiments, other hardware, software or other resources not strictlylocated or hosted in the cloud can be leveraged as needed. For example,other software services that are provided outside of the clouds 104 and106 and hosted by third parties can be invoked by in-cloud virtualmachines. For further example, other non-cloud hardware and/or storageservices can be utilized as an extension to the clouds 104 and 106,either on an on-demand or subscribed or decided basis.

With the specification and resources identified, the cloud managementsystem 102 can extract and build the set of virtual machines or otherresources on a dynamic or on-demand basis. For example, one set ofresource servers 108 or computing systems 110 can respond to aninstantiation request for a given quantity of processor cycles with anoffer to deliver that computational power immediately and guaranteed forthe next hour. A further set of resource servers 108 or computingsystems 110 can offer to immediately supply communication bandwidth, forexample on a guaranteed minimum or best-efforts basis. In otherembodiments, the set of virtual machines or other resources can be builton a batch basis or at a particular future time. For example, a set ofresource servers 108 and/or computing systems 110 can respond to arequest for instantiation at a programmed time with an offer to deliverthe specified quantity of processor cycles within a specific amount oftime, such as the next 12 hours.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can then coordinate theintegration of the completed group of servers from the set of resourceservers 108 and/or computing systems from the computing systems 110, tobuild and launch the requested set of virtual machines or otherresources. The cloud management system 102 can track the combined groupof servers selected from the set of resource servers 108, computingsystems from the computing systems 110, or other distributed resourcesthat are dynamically or temporarily combined, to produce and manage therequested virtual machine population or other resources.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can then set up andlaunch the initiation process for the virtual machines, processes, orother resources to be delivered from the cloud. The cloud managementsystem 102 can for instance transmit an instantiation command orinstruction to the group of servers in set of resource servers 108and/or computing system in the computing systems 110. The cloudmanagement system 102 can receive a confirmation message back from eachparticipating server in a set of resource servers 108 and/or computingsystem in the computing systems 110 indicating a status regarding theprovisioning of their respective resources. Various sets of resourceservers can confirm, for example, the availability of a dedicated amountof processor cycles, amounts of electronic memory, communicationsbandwidth, or applications or other software prepared to be served.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can maintain a VM record130 of each virtual machine instantiated in the clouds 104 and 106. Eachvirtual machine can be assigned an instantiated machine ID that can bestored in the VM record 130, or other record or image of theinstantiated population. Additionally, the cloud management system 102can store the duration of each virtual machine and the collection ofresources utilized by each virtual machine in the VM record 130 and/orinventory 124. The cloud management system 102 can maintain the VMrecord 130 in the repository 126.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can further store, trackand manage a requester's identity and associated set of rights orentitlements to software, hardware, and other resources. Each requesterthat populates a set of virtual machines in the cloud can have specificrights and resources assigned and made available to them. The cloudmanagement system 102 can track and configure specific actions that arequester can perform, such as provision a set of virtual machines withsoftware applications or other resources, configure a set of virtualmachines to desired specifications, submit jobs to the set of virtualmachines or other host, manage other requesters of the virtual machinesor other resources, and other privileges or actions. The cloudmanagement system 102 can further generate records of the usage ofinstantiated virtual machines to permit tracking, billing, and auditingof the services consumed by the requester. In embodiments, the cloudmanagement system 102 can for example meter the usage and/or duration ofthe virtual machines, to generate subscription billing records for arequester that has launched those machines. Other billing or valuearrangements are possible.

The cloud management system 102 can configure each virtual machine to bemade available to requester and/or users of the one or more networks 120and/or 122 via a browser interface, or other interface or mechanism.Each instantiated virtual machine can communicate with the cloudmanagement system 102 and the underlying registered set of resourceservers 108 and/or computing systems 110 via a standard Web applicationprogramming interface (API), or via other calls or interfaces. Theinstantiated virtual machines can likewise communicate with each other,as well as other sites, servers, locations, and resources available viathe Internet or other public or private networks, whether within a givencloud 104 or 106 or between clouds.

It may be noted that while a browser interface or other front-end can beused to view and operate the instantiated virtual machines from a clientor terminal, the processing, memory, communications, storage, and otherhardware as well as software resources required to be combined to buildthe virtual machines or other resources are all hosted remotely in theclouds 104 and 106. In embodiments, the virtual machines or otherresources may not depend on or require the requester's own on-premisehardware or other resources. In embodiments, a requester can thereforerequest and instantiate a set of virtual machines or other resources ona purely off-premise basis, for instance to build and launch a virtualstorefront or other application.

Because the cloud management system 102 in one regard specifies, builds,operates and manages the virtual machines on a logical level, therequester can request and receive different sets of virtual machines andother resources on a real-time or near real-time basis, without a needto specify or install any particular hardware. The requester's virtualmachines, processes, or other resources can be scaled up or downimmediately or virtually immediately on an on-demand basis, if desired.In embodiments, the various sets of computing resources that areaccessed by the cloud management system 102 to support the virtualmachines or processes can change or be substituted, over time. The typeand operating characteristics of the virtual machines can neverthelessremain constant or virtually constant, since instances are assembledfrom abstracted resources that can be selected and maintained fromdiverse sources based on uniform specifications.

In terms of network management of the virtual machines that have beensuccessfully configured and instantiated, the cloud management system102 can perform various network management tasks including security,maintenance, and metering for billing or subscription purposes. Thecloud management system 102 of a given cloud 104 or 106 can, forexample, install or terminate applications or appliances on individualmachines. The cloud management system 102 can monitor operating virtualmachines to detect any virus or other rogue process on individualmachines, and for instance terminate the infected application or virtualmachine. The cloud management system 102 can likewise manage the virtualmachines or other resources on a collective basis, for instance, to pushor deliver a software upgrade to all active virtual machines. Othermanagement processes are possible. Likewise, the cloud management system102 can be configured to communicate with external network managementsystems to coordinate the network management functions and processes.

In embodiments, more than one set of virtual machines can beinstantiated in a given cloud at the same, overlapping or successivetimes. The cloud management system 102 can, in such implementations,build, launch and manage multiple sets of virtual machines based on thesame or different underlying set of resource servers 108 or computingsystems 110, with populations of different sets of virtual machines suchas may be requested by different requesters. The cloud management system102 can institute and enforce security protocols in the clouds 104 and106 hosting multiple sets of virtual machines. Each of the individualsets of virtual machines can be hosted in a respective partition orsub-cloud of the resources of the clouds 104 and/or 106. The cloudmanagement system 102 of a cloud can for example deploy servicesspecific to isolated or defined sub-clouds, or isolate individualworkloads/processes within the cloud to a specific sub-cloud. Thesubdivision of the clouds 104 and/or 106 into distinct transientsub-clouds or other sub-components which have assured security andisolation features can assist in establishing multiple requesters or amulti-tenant cloud arrangement. In a multiple requesters scenario, eachof the multiple requesters can use the cloud platform as a commonutility while retaining the assurance that their information is securefrom other requesters of the overall cloud system. In furtherembodiments, sub-clouds can nevertheless be configured to shareresources, if desired.

In embodiments, the instantiated virtual machines supported by the cloud104 can also interact with instantiated virtual machines or processesgenerated in the ad-hoc cloud 106 or other clouds and vice versa. Thecloud management system 102 of clouds 104 and 106 can interface with thecloud management system of other clouds, to coordinate those domains andoperate the clouds and/or virtual machines or processes on a combinedbasis.

As described above, the cloud management system 102 can instantiate andmanage the virtual machines instantiated in the clouds 104 and 106. Inembodiments, the instantiation and management of virtual machines can beperformed by virtual machine (VM) managers separate from the cloudmanagement system 102. The cloud management system 102 can be configuredto communicate with the separate VM managers in order to provide the VMmanagers with the computing resources available in the clouds 104 and106. The cloud management system 102 can be configured to communicateand cooperate with the VM managers regardless of the virtualizationscheme used by the VM managers.

In the foregoing and other embodiments, the requester making aninstantiation request or otherwise accessing or utilizing the cloudnetwork can be a person, customer, subscriber, administrator,corporation, organization, or other entity. In embodiments, therequester can be or include another virtual machine, application orprocess. In further embodiments, multiple requesters and/or entities canshare the use of a set of virtual machines or other resources.

FIG. 2 further illustrates aspects of the cloud computing environment100 in which the cloud management system 102 can manage the dedicatedcloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud 106 including providing power managementfor virtual machine instantiation, according to various embodiments.While FIG. 2 only illustrates the interaction of cloud management system102 with the dedicated cloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud 106, one skilledin the art will realize that the cloud management system 102 can manageany number of clouds, for instance, only one of the dedicated cloud 104and the ad-hoc cloud 106 or other clouds in addition to the dedicatedcloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud 106.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cloud management system 102 can be coupled to anetwork 120 to communicate with the set of resource servers 108 andcoupled to the network 122 to communicate with computing systems 110 toprovide management services for the dedicated cloud 104 and the ad-hoccloud 106. As mentioned above, the dedicated cloud 104 can comprise aset of resource servers 108 configured to deliver computing resourcesand components needed to instantiate a virtual machine, process, orother resource. The ad-hoc cloud 106 can be composed of a variety ofcomputing resources that may not be dedicated to a cloud but can haveavailable computing resources to contribute to the ad-hoc cloud 106. Forexample, a corporation or university can have a large number ofcomputing resources that support a variety of process (email, websites,individual user computing, and the like). The corporation or universitycan utilize the available excess computing resources to support thead-hoc cloud 106.

In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the ad-hoc cloud 106 can besupported by the computing systems 110 For example, the computingsystems 110 can include a variety of systems such as a set of servers112 and 114 and standalone user computing systems 116 and 118. Thecomputing systems 110 can include hardware resources, such asprocessors, memory, network hardware, storage devices, and the like, andsoftware resources, such as operating systems (OS), applicationprograms, and the like.

In embodiments, to manage and support the dedicated cloud 104 and thead-hoc cloud 106, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toidentify the computing resources of the set of resources servers 108 andthe computing systems 110. The cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to include a network management agent 202 that is capable ofquerying the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems 110to determine the hardware and software resources. For example, thenetwork management agent 202 can be configured to transmit anidentification query 204 to the set of resource servers 108 via thenetwork 120 and to the computing systems 110 via the network 122 andreceive a response 206 identifying the computing resources of the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing resources of the computingsystems 110. Likewise, the network management agent 202 can beconfigured to directly examine the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing systems 110 to determine the computing resources. The networkmanagement agent 202 can be configured to include the necessary logic,routines, instruction, and commands to communicate with the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing systems 110 in order to identifythe computing resources of the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing systems 110.

In embodiments, the network management agent 202 can be implemented as aportion of the code for the cloud management system 102. Likewise, thenetwork management agent 202 can be implemented as a separate softwaretool accessible by the cloud management system 102. The networkmanagement agent 202 can be written in a variety of programminglanguages, such as JAVA, C++, Python code, and the like to accommodate avariety of operating systems, machine architectures, etc. Additionally,the network management agent 202 can be configured to include theappropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) to communicatewith and cooperate with other components of the cloud management system102.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured tocommunicate with an external network management system 208 in order todetermine the computing resources of the set of resource servers 108 andthe computing systems 110. The cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to send a request to the network management system 208 toidentify the computing resources. The network management system 208 canbe configured to transmit the identification query 204 to the set ofresource servers 108 via network 120 and to the computing systems 110via network 122, to receive a response 206 identifying the computingresources of the set of resource servers 108 and the computing system110, and to provide the identified computing resources to the cloudmanagement system 102.

In embodiments, the network management system 208 can be any type ofnetwork management application or tool to securely communicate with theset of resource servers 108 and the computing systems 110, to monitorthe state of the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems110, to retrieve and request data from the set of resource servers 108and the computing systems 110, and to manage and direct the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing systems 110. For example, thenetwork management system 208 can be a “FUNC” server as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/130,424, filed May 30, 2008,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REMOTE MANAGEMENT OF NETWORKED SYSTEMSUSING SECURE MODULAR PLATFORM” (U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2009/0300180) assigned to Red Hat, Inc., the disclosure of which isincorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.

In embodiments, in order to aid in identifying the computing resources,the set of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems 110 caninclude a resource monitoring agent. For example, as illustrated in FIG.2, the user computing system 116 can include a resource monitoring agent209. The resource monitoring agent 209 can be configured to identify thecomputing resources of the user computing system 116. The resourcemonitoring agent 209 can provide the identification of the computingresources to the cloud management system 102 and/or network managementsystem 208. The resource monitoring agent 209 can be configured toinclude the necessary logic, routines, instruction, and commands tocommunicate with the hardware and software resources of the computingsystems 110 in order to identify the computing resources of the set ofresource servers 108 and/or the computing systems 110.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 and/or networkmanagement system 208 can be configured to identify both the hardwareand software resources of the set of resource servers 108 and computingsystems 110 and which of those resources are available for use in thecloud. The cloud management system 102 can be configured to identify thehardware resources such as type and amount of processing power, type andamount of memory, type and amount of storage, type and amount of networkbandwidth and the like, of the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing systems 110. Likewise, the cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to identify the software resources, such as type of OS,application programs, and the like, of the set of resource servers 108and the computing systems 110.

In embodiments, when identifying the computing resources, the cloudmanagement system 102 and/or network management system 208 can beconfigured to identify the usage and availability of the set of resourceservers 108 and the computing system 110. For example, the computingsystems 110 can be supporting other processes outside the ad-hoc cloud106 and/or virtual machines in the ad-hoc cloud 106, and the set ofresource servers 108 can be supporting virtual machines in the dedicatedcloud 104. The cloud management system 102 and/or network managementsystem 208 can be configured to identify both the type and total amountof hardware and software resources as well as those currently availablefor use in the dedicated cloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud 106.

In embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 2, one or more of the set ofresource 108 and/or one or more of the computing system 110 can beconnected to power management systems 210 to control the power suppliedto the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems 110 and toalter the power state of one or more of the set of resource servers 108and the computing systems 110 (e.g. power cycle). The power managementsystems 210 can be any type of system to manage the power of the targetmachines, for example, Integrated Lights Out (ILO) by Hewlett Packard™Corporation, Dell™ Remote Access Control (DRAC) by Dell Corporation, WTIpowerbar by Western Telematics, Inc, and other power system supportingnetwork communications.

In embodiments, when identifying the computing resources of the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing systems 110, the cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to identify the power management systems210. For example, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toinclude a request to identify the power management systems 210 in thequery 204. The cloud management system 102 can receive theidentification of the power management systems 210 in the response 206.The identification of the power management system can include an uniqueidentifier of the power management systems 210, the type of the powermanagement systems 210, and any information necessary to communicatewith the power management systems 210 (access information, commands,protocols, instructions, and the like).

In embodiments, the network management system 208 can be configured toidentify the power management systems 210 and provide the identificationof the power management systems 210 to the cloud management systems 102.Additionally, the identification of the power management systems 210 canbe provided to the cloud management system 102 by a third party, such asan administrator of the cloud management system 102.

In embodiments, once the computing resources have been identified, thecloud management system 102 can be configured to store an identificationof the available resources in the inventory 124 in the repository 126.The repository 126 can be any type of structure configured to storeinformation, such as a database. The repository 126 can be maintained ina computer readable storage device or medium whether local to or remotefrom the cloud management system 102.

In embodiments, the inventory 124 can be configured to includeinformation that identifies the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing systems 110 and information identifying the computingresources available. The set of resource servers 108 and the computingsystems 110 can be identified by unique identifiers such as, forinstance, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or other addresses. Forexample, each system 112, 114, 116, and 118 can have a uniqueidentifier. In the inventory 124, the cloud management system 102 canassociate, with each unique identifier, the computing resourcesavailable on that computing system. The inventory 124 can include thetype and total amount of hardware and software resources and the typeand amount of available hardware and software resources.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured tostore the identification of the power management systems 210 in theinventory 124. In the inventory 124, the cloud management system 102 canassociate, with each unique identifier of the set of resource servers108 and the computing systems 110, the identification of the powermanagement systems 210 with which it is associated.

In embodiments, once the computing resources have been identified, thecloud management system 102 can be configured to receive instantiationrequests from requesters to instantiate virtual machines in thededicated cloud 104 and/or the ad-hoc cloud 106. The cloud managementsystem can be configured to receive specifications, in the instantiationrequests, of the cloud usage. The specifications can include how therequester plans to use the dedicated cloud 104 and/or the ad hoc cloud106 (mail server, application server, web server, etc.) and/or specificrequirements for the computing resources (amount of processing power,amount of memory, amount of storage, amount of bandwidth, etc.). Thecloud management system 102 can be configured to utilize thespecifications from the requester and the inventory 124 of availablecomputing resources to determine and allocate which cloud resources todevote to the requester's virtual machines to maximize the computingresources and meet the requester's specifications.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can determine thespecific set of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems 110and/or the specific computing resources to allocate to the requester'svirtual machine. The cloud management system 102 can examine theinventory 124 to determine which of the set of resource servers 108and/or the computing systems 110 and computing resources are availableand meet the specifications of the instantiation request. For instance,the cloud management system can examine the inventory 124 to determinewhich of the set of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems110 and computing resources are available and match or most closelymatch the specifications of the instantiation request.

In embodiments, once the computing systems and computing resources havebeen allocated, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toinstantiate the virtual machines as specified in the instantiationrequest, as described above in FIG. 1. The cloud management system 102can be configured to utilize any type of virtualization scheme toinstantiate the virtual machines on the set of resource servers 108and/or the computing system 110. Likewise, the cloud management system102 can utilize different type of virtualization schemes on differentones of the set of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems110, for instance, depending on which scheme can be supported by aparticular one of the set of resource servers 108 and/or computingsystem 110. The cloud management system 102 can maintain the VM record130 of each virtual machine instantiated in the dedicated cloud 104 andthe ad-hoc cloud 106. Each virtual machine can be assigned aninstantiated machine ID that can be stored in the VM record 130.Additionally, the cloud management system 102 can store the duration ofeach virtual machine and the collection of resources utilized by eachvirtual machine in the VM record 130 and/or inventory 124. The cloudmanagement system 102 can maintain the VM record 130 in the repository126.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toalter the operating state of the set of resource servers 108 and/or thecomputing systems 110 in order to instantiate the virtual machines. Forexample, when instantiating a new virtual machine, other existingvirtual machines or the virtual machine architecture may need to bere-started in order to instantiate the new virtual machine.Additionally, when instantiating a new virtual machine on a computingsystem, the operational state of the computing system, itself, may needto be altered in order to instantiate the virtual machine. For example,a particular computing system from the set of resource servers 108 andthe computing systems 110 may not currently be supporting any virtualmachines. If the cloud management system 102 instantiates a new virtualmachine on this particular computing system, the cloud management system102 can be configured to re-start the particular computing system, forinstance, by altering the power state of the particular computingsystem, in order to initiate the virtual machine architecture andinstantiate the virtual machine on the particular computing system.

In embodiments, additionally, the cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to alter the operating state of the set of resource servers108 and/or the computing systems 110 for a variety of other reasons. Forexample, new sets of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems110 may need to be added to the dedicated cloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud106. In this example, the cloud management system 102 can be configuredto alter the power state of the new computing systems in order to addthe systems to the dedicated cloud 104 and the ad-hoc cloud 106 and toadd new virtual machines to the new computing systems. Likewise, forexample, one or more of the set of resource servers 108 and/or thecomputing systems 110 may be under-utilized (e.g. supporting a fractionof virtual machines possible). In this example, the cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to migrate the virtual machines from one ormore of the under-utilized set of resource servers 108 and/or theunder-utilized computing systems 110 and configured to power down theunder-utilized set of resource servers 108 and/or the under-utilizedcomputing systems 110.

In embodiments, when instantiating virtual machines on the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing systems 110, the cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to determine if the operational state ofthe virtual machines, virtual machine architecture, or computing systemsneed to be altered. To determine if the operational state needs to bealtered, the cloud management system 102 can be configured to examinethe specifications of the virtual machines and the computing systems tobe allocated to determine if the operational state needs to be altered.The cloud management system 102 can be configured to examine thespecification of the virtual machines to determine the computingresources to be utilized and configured to examine the inventory 124 andVM record 130 to determine other virtual machines operating on thecomputing system.

In embodiments, once the determination is made, the cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to alter the power state of particular oneor more of the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems110, if necessary. The cloud management system 102 can be configured tocommunicate with the power management systems 210 of the particular oneor more of the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems 110to alter the power state. To achieve this, the cloud management system102 can be configured to include a power management module 212.

In embodiments, the power management module 212 can be configured tocommunicate with the power management systems 210 of the set of resourceservers 108 and the computing systems 110. The power management module212 can be configured to instruct the power management systems 210 toalter the power state of the set of resource servers 108 and thecomputing systems 110. The power management module 212 can be configuredto generate a command or instruction. The instruction can include accessinformation for the power management systems 210 and the power statealteration to be performed. To determine the access information and theappropriate command or instruction, the power management module 212 canbe configured to examine the inventory 124 to determine theidentification of the power management systems 210 for the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing systems 110 for which the powerstate will be altered.

In embodiments, the power management module 212 can be configured toform the instruction in a protocol utilized by the particular powermanagement systems 210. For example, the cloud management system 102 canbe configured to utilize conventional or proprietary protocols or toolssuch as IPMI, DRAC, ILO, fence agents and the like. The power managementmodule 212 can be configured to utilize a predetermined protocol orutilize several protocols in order to determine the appropriateprotocol. Once generated, the cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to transmit the instruction to the determined powermanagement systems 210.

In embodiments, the power management module 212 can be implemented as aportion of the code for the cloud management system 102. Likewise, thepower management module 212 can be implemented as a separate softwaretool accessible by the cloud management system 102. Additionally, thepower management module 212 can be implemented as a portion of the codefor the network management server 208. The power management module 212can be written in a variety of programming languages, such as JAVA, C++,Python code, and the like to accommodate a variety of operating systems,machine architectures, etc. Additionally, the power management module212 can be configured to include the appropriate application programminginterfaces (APIs) to communicate with and cooperate with othercomponents of the cloud management system 102.

In one example, the cloud management system 102 can receive aninstantiation request 212 from a requester 214. The cloud managementsystem 102 can determine that the user computing system 116 andcomputing resources are available and meet the specifications of theinstantiation request 212. When instantiating the virtual machine of theinstantiation request 212, the cloud management system 102 can examinethe specifications of the instantiation request, the inventory record124 for the user computing system 116, and the VM record 130 todetermine if the virtual architecture needs to be restarted or theoperational state of the user computing system 116 needs to be altered.

In this example, the cloud management system 102 can determine that theoperational state needs to be altered to instantiate the virtualmachine. For instance, the user computing system 116 may not currentlybe supporting any virtual machine architecture or the computingresources to be allocated to the virtual machine may require the usercomputing system 116 to be restarted in order for the virtual machine tooperate properly. As such, the cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to retrieve the identification of the power management system210, associated with the user computing system 116, from the inventory124. The cloud management system 102 can be configured to instantiatethe virtual machine on the user computing system 116 and, then, providea command 216 to the power management system 210 to alter the powerstate (e.g. power cycle) of the user computing system 116.

In embodiments, the instantiation and management of virtual machines andthe power management described above can be performed by the cloudmanagement system 102. Likewise, the cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to communicate with one or more VM managers 218 separate fromthe cloud management system 102. The cloud management system 102 can beconfigured to communicate with the separate VM managers 218 in order toprovide the VM managers 218 with the computing resources allocated to aparticular virtual machines and the identification of the powermanagement system 210, if necessary, and the VM managers 218 can beconfigured to instantiate the virtual machines on the allocatedcomputing resources. The cloud management system 102 can be configuredto communicate and cooperate with the VM managers 218 regardless of thevirtualization scheme used by the VM managers 218. For example, the VMmanagers 218 can be a variety of different VM managers supportingvirtualization schemes such as Xen, Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM),VMware, mainframe ZVM, and the like.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 102 can be configured toupdate the inventory 124. For example, as computing resources areallocated, the cloud management system can be configured to update theinventory 124 to reflect allocation or de-allocation of computingresources. Additionally, the cloud management system 102 and/or networkmanagement system 208 can be configured to periodically query the set ofresource servers 108 and the computing system 110 to update theavailability of computing resources. The cloud management system 102 canbe configured to update the inventory 124 to reflect these updates.

In embodiments, as described above, the cloud management system 102 canalter the operational state of one or more of the set of resourceservers 108 and/or the computing systems 110. The cloud managementsystem 102 can be configured to determine whether virtual machines arecurrently instantiated these set of resource servers 108 and/or thecomputing systems 110. The cloud management system 102 can be configuredto migrate the virtual machines, if necessary, to other of the set ofresource servers 108 and/or the computing systems 110 prior to alteringthe power state of these set of resource servers 108 and/or thecomputing systems 110. As such, the cloud management system 102 canprevent an interruption of the virtual machines.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary diagram of hardware and other resourcesthat can be incorporated in a computing system 300 and configured tocommunicate with the clouds 104 and 106 via one or more networks 120 and122, according to embodiments. In embodiments as shown, the computingsystem 300 can comprise a processor 302 communicating with memory 304,such as electronic random access memory, operating under control of orin conjunction with operating system 308. Operating system 308 can be,for example, a distribution of the Linux™ operating system, such asSELinux, the Unix™ operating system, or other open-source or proprietaryoperating system or platform. Processor 302 also communicates with oneor more computer readable storage devices or media 310, such as harddrives, optical storage, and the like, for maintaining the repository126. Processor 302 further communicates with network interface 306, suchas an Ethernet or wireless data connection, which in turn communicateswith one or more networks 120 and 122, such as the Internet or otherpublic or private networks.

Processor 302 also communicates with the cloud management system 102, toexecute control logic and allow perform the management processes andpower management as described above and below. Other configurations ofthe computing system 300, associated network connections, and otherhardware and software resources are possible.

While FIG. 3 illustrates the computing system 300 as a standalone systemincluding a combination of hardware and software, the computing system300 can include multiple systems operating in cooperation. The cloudmanagement system 102 can be implemented as a software application orprogram capable of being executed by the computing system 300, asillustrated, or other conventional computer platforms. Likewise, thecloud management system 102 can also be implemented as a software moduleor program module capable of being incorporated in other softwareapplications and programs. Further, the cloud management system 102 canalso be implemented as a software module or program module capable ofbeing incorporated in other management software applications andprograms. In any example, the cloud management system 102 can beimplemented in any type of conventional proprietary or open-sourcecomputer language. When implemented as a software application or programcode, the cloud management system 102 can be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as storage 310, accessible by thecomputing system 300.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram flexible management process for acloud computing architecture, according to embodiments. In 402,processing can begin. In 404, the cloud management system 102 canidentify the computing systems and resources for supporting a cloudincluding power management systems 210 of the computing systems. Forexample, the cloud management system 102 can query the set of resourceservers 108 and the computing systems 110 to identify the type andamount of computing resources and which of these resources areavailable. Likewise, the cloud management module 102 can communicatewith network management systems 208 and/or monitoring agent 209 todetermine the computing resources.

In 406, the cloud management system 102 can store the identificationcomputing systems, the identification of computing resources available,and identification of power management systems in the inventory 124. Forexample, in the inventory 124, the cloud management system 102 canassociate, with each unique identifier, the computing resourcesavailable on that computing system. The inventory 124 can include thetype and total amount of hardware and software resources and the typeand amount of available hardware and software resources. The cloudmanagement system 102 can store the identification of the powermanagement systems 210 in the inventory 124. In the inventory 124, thecloud management system 102 can associate, with each unique identifierof the set of resource servers 108 and the computing systems 110, theidentification of the power management systems 210 with which it isassociated.

In 408, the cloud management system 102 can receive a request toinstantiate a virtual machine in the cloud. For example, the cloudmanagement system 102 can receive specifications, in the instantiationrequests, of the cloud usage. The specifications can include how therequester plans to use the dedicated cloud 104 and/or ad-hoc cloud 106(mail server, application server, web server, etc.) and/or specificrequirements for the computing resources (amount of processing power,amount of memory, amount of storage, amount of bandwidth, etc.).

In 410, the cloud management system 102 can identify the set of servers108 and/or the computing systems 110 to allocate to the requester'svirtual machine. For example, the cloud management system 102 candetermine one or more of the set of servers 108 and/or the computingsystems 110 and/or the specific computing resources to allocate to therequester's virtual machine. The cloud management system 102 can examinethe inventory 124 to determine which of the set of resource servers 108and/or the computing systems 110 and computing resources are availableand meet the specifications of the instantiation request. For instance,the cloud management system can examine the inventory 124 to determinewhich of the set of resource servers 108 and/or the computing systems110 and computing resources are available and match or most closelymatch the specifications of the instantiation request.

In 412, the cloud management system 102 can determine if the operationalstate of the virtual machine architecture or computing system needs tobe altered. For example, the cloud management system 102 can examine thespecifications of the virtual machines and the computing systems to beallocated to determine if the operational state needs to be altered. Thecloud management system 102 can examine the specification of the virtualmachines to determine the computing resources to be utilized andconfigured to examine the inventory 124 and VM record 130 to determineother virtual machines operating on the computing system.

If alteration of operation state is required, in 414, the cloudmanagement system 102 can identify the power management systemassociated with the computing system. For example, the cloud managementsystem 102 can examine the inventory 124 to identify the powermanagement systems 102 associated with the computer systems allocated tothe virtual machine.

In 416, the cloud management system 102 can instantiate the virtualmachine in the cloud. For example, the cloud management system 102 candirectly instantiate the virtual machine on the the selected set ofresource servers 108 and/or the computer systems 110 and computerresources, or the computer system can communicate with one or more VMmanagers 224 to instantiate the virtual machines. The cloud managementsystem 102 can also update the inventory 124 to indicate the allocationof the set of resource servers 108 and/or the computer systems 110 andthe computer resources.

In 418, the cloud management system 102 can provide command toidentified power management system to alter power state, if necessary.The cloud management system 102 can provide the command directly to thepower management systems 210. Likewise, other systems, such as networkmanagement systems 202 or VM managers 218, can provide the command tothe power management systems 210.

Then, in 420, the process can end, but the process can return to anypoint and repeat.

Certain embodiments may be performed as a computer application orprogram. The computer program may exist in a variety of forms bothactive and inactive. For example, the computer program can exist assoftware program(s) comprised of program instructions in source code,object code, executable code or other formats; firmware program(s); orhardware description language (HDL) files. Any of the above can beembodied on a computer readable medium, which include computer readablestorage devices and media, and signals, in compressed or uncompressedform. Exemplary computer readable storage devices and media includeconventional computer system RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-onlymemory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electricallyerasable, programmable ROM), and magnetic or optical disks or tapes.Exemplary computer readable signals, whether modulated using a carrieror not, are signals that a computer system hosting or running thepresent teachings can be configured to access, including signalsdownloaded through the Internet or other networks. Concrete examples ofthe foregoing include distribution of executable software program(s) ofthe computer program on a CD-ROM or via Internet download. In a sense,the Internet itself, as an abstract entity, is a computer readablemedium. The same is true of computer networks in general.

While the teachings has been described with reference to the exemplaryembodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to makevarious modifications to the described embodiments without departingfrom the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptions used hereinare set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant aslimitations. In particular, although the method has been described byexamples, the steps of the method may be performed in a different orderthan illustrated or simultaneously. Furthermore, to the extent that theterms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variantsthereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, suchterms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising.” As used herein, the term “one or more of” with respect toa listing of items such as, for example, A and B, means A alone, Balone, or A and B. Those skilled in the art will recognize that theseand other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as definedin the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a request toinstantiate a virtual machine; determining, by a processor, that a powerstate is to be altered to instantiate the virtual machine on a computingsystem; and altering the power state in response to the determining. 2.The method of claim 1 further comprising instantiating the virtualmachine on the computing system.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein theinstantiating of the virtual machine is by a system that is differentthan the computing system.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the requestcomprises a specification of the virtual machine.
 5. The method of claim4 wherein the specification indicates a type of virtual machine.
 6. Themethod of claim 4 further comprising: selecting by the processor, inview of the specification, the computing system from a plurality ofcomputing systems.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the altering of thepower state comprises providing a command to a power management system.8. An apparatus comprising: a network interface; and a processor,operatively coupled to the network interface, to: receive, via thenetwork interface, a request to instantiate a virtual machine, determinethat a power state is to be altered to instantiate the virtual machine,and alter the power state.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein theprocessor is further to instantiate the virtual machine on a computingsystem.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the request comprises aspecification of the virtual machine.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10wherein the specification indicates a process to be performed by thevirtual machine.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the processor isfurther to: select, in view of the specification, the computing systemfrom a plurality of computing systems.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8wherein to alter the power state the processor is to provide a commandto a power management system.
 14. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium comprising instructions to cause a processor to: receivea request to instantiate a virtual machine; determine, by the processor,that a power state is to be altered to instantiate the virtual machineon a computing system; and alter the power state.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the instructionsfurther cause instantiation of the virtual machine on the computingsystem.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim15 wherein the instantiation is by a system that is different than thecomputing system.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 14 wherein the request comprises a specification of thevirtual machine.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage mediumof claim 17 wherein the specification indicates a computing resource forthe virtual machine.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 17 wherein the instructions further cause the processorto: select, in view of the specification, the computing system from aplurality of computing systems.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 14 to alter the power state, the processor is toprovide a command to a power management system.